Virender Sehwag has constructed an extraordinary career with a relentless quest, and a genius, for boundary hitting. With minimal footwork but maximum intent, he has piled Test runs at a faster pace than anyone in the history of cricket. Bowlers must always fancy their chances against a batsman who plays so many strokes; it's just that Sehwag fancies his chances against them much more.

As a starry-eyed youngster from Najafgarh, where his family ran a flour mill, Sehwag grew up, like many others from his generation, wanting to be Sachin Tendulkar. Indeed, when he scored his first one-day hundred, filling up for his injured idol against New Zealand in Sri Lanka, he could have been mistaken for him: there was the same back-foot punch on the off side, the minimalistic straight drive and the wristy whip to the leg. And on his Test debut, on a fiery pitch in Bloemfontein, he matched the master stroke for stroke as they both blazed away to hundreds. But soon he emerged his own man, and not long after Tendulkar was playing a supporting, and somewhat calming, hand as Sehwag romped away to a triple-hundred, the first by an Indian, in Multan, bringing it up with a six. Two Tests ago, he had been dismissed trying the same stroke five short of what would have been his first Test double-hundred.

His uncomplicated approach - batting is all about scoring as many runs as quickly as possible - belies a sharp and street-smart cricket mind. He has a keen grasp of his own, and his opponents', strengths and weaknesses and exploits them in a forensic manner. What appears risky to many, is merely an opportunity for him, and his lack of footwork, which does get him in trouble against the moving ball, is mostly an advantage, for it creates space for his brilliant handwork. Few batsmen have hit the ball harder square on the off side, and fewer still have hit them as frequently. And the sight of a spinner brings the savage out in him: and for many spectacular assaults against the world's leading spinners, there have numerous outrageous dismissals against the not-so-reputed ones.

The most remarkable aspect of Sehwag's career of course has been his ability to build massive scores at breathtaking speed. He holds the Indian record for highest number of Test double-hundreds, and came within seven runs of becoming the first batsman to score three triple-hundreds. That innings, against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, epitomised the Sehwag brand of batsmanship: a mix of imagination, daring, power, skills, and clarity of vision. His ODI career doesn't have as many high points, and yet he held the record for the highest score in that format at one point, scoring an astonishing 219 against West Indies in Indore. The most remarkable feature of the innings was the ease with which he reached the landmark, completing his double-hundred with more than six overs to spare.

Sehwag is equally refreshing off the field and shares his views on the game in an endearingly direct and candid manner, a rare trait among contemporary cricketers. He is, in every sense, a true original.Sambit Bal

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Timeline

April 1, 1999 A forgettable first bow

Makes his first appearance at the international level, as an allrounder batting at No .7, in a one-dayer against Pakistan in Mohali. The 20-year-old hardly looks athletic and flops with bat and ball

March 25, 2001 Making a mark

His first game-changing performance at the international level comes in a one-dayer against Australia in Bangalore. A rapid half-century and three important wickets help snap Australia's run of 10 one-day victories

August 2, 2001 Here comes the hard-hitter

Asked to open the innings in the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, to whom he is compared early in his career, he hammers a 69-ball century against New Zealand at the Sinhalese Sports Club to easily steer India to the target of 265 and a place in the final of the Coca-Cola Cup

Initially considered a limited-overs specialist player, he shows he can cut it in Tests with a sparkling century on debut - in South Africa after walking in with the team floundering at 68 for 4. His reviving 220-run stand with Tendulkar comes off just 47.2 overs

November 16-20, 2001 The Mike Denness controversy

In his next Test in Port Elizabeth, he is among the six Indian players penalised by the match referee Mike Denness. Sehwag is given a one-Test ban for dissent and for trying to intimidate the umpire by charging at him. A huge controversy erupts, the Indian board called the rulings 'biased' and 'inconsistent', the third Test in Centurion is declared unofficial and only after endless negotiations with the ICC do India accept Sehwag's ban

July-August 2002 Top gear at the top

With the Test middle-order packed, he is promoted to the top of the order on the tour of England. He continues to match every challenge set for him - in his first two Tests as opener, he blasts a carefree 84 and a boundary-filled 106

With a place in the semi-finals at stake in the ICC Champions Trophy, he smashes a 104-ball 126 against England at the R Premadasa Stadium to take India to the target of 270 within 40 overs. Before this, no team had successfully chased more than 244 at the venue

December 26, 2003 A Boxing Day special

Constructs one of the great innings on the opening day of a Test, lashing 195 runs against Australia at the MCG in a little over five hours. Studded with 25 fours, he falls short of his first Test double-century when attempting to clear long-on just one ball after he had smashed his fifth six

March 28-April 1, 2004 A Multan epic

In nine hours of sustained hitting, he becomes India's first triple-centurion, in a high-pressure match against Pakistan in Multan. His 309 is the bedrock of India's massive total, and sets up the side for their first Test win in Pakistan

He has his troubles in the one-day format but Test cricket continues to be easy for Sehwag, as he batters the South African bowlers in the two-match home series. First, there's an insolent 164 in Kanpur followed by a typically belligerent 88 at the Eden Gardens

March 2005 Pakistan bear the brunt again

He turns in a dazzling Man-of-the-Series performance at home against Pakistan, rattling off scores of 173, 81 and 201 in the three Tests at his usual frenetic pace, but it still isn't enough to give India a series victory

January 13-17, 2006 A gargantuan opening stand

He and Rahul Dravid nearly break the record for the largest opening partnership in Tests, when they put on 410 on a featherbed in Lahore. They fall three short of the 50-year-old mark when a nick to the keeper ends the stay of Sehwag, who later says he was unaware of the previous record

After a string of listless performances, particularly in the DLF Cup in Kuala Lumpur, he is stripped of the Test vice-captaincy. A disastrous tour of South Africa ends with him playing in the middle-order for the deciding Test in Cape Town, after which he is left out of Tests for a year

December 12, 2007 An unexpected comeback

Though he had been in and out of the limited-overs side over the past year, there's no hint of a Test recall, and he is left out of the preliminary squad for the Australia tour. Surprisingly, he is among the 16 members that the selectors finally pick for the series, and he returns to energise India's top-order during the famous Perth win.

Janury 24-28 2008 Ending the second-innings jinx

In his stunning resume, there had been no second-innings centuries but in Adelaide - his second Test after making a comeback - Sehwag crafts 151, unusually dropping anchor after reaching his century, to save India when the established batting stars flop. The next highest score is MS Dhoni's 20.

In his next Test innings he blazes to the quickest triple-hundred, taking 278 deliveries to reach the mark, joining Don Bradman and Brian Lara on the list of players making two scores in excess of 300. On a flat track in Chennai, he flogs 257 runs on the third day alone. South Africa coach Mickey Arthur calls it the 'best Test innings I have ever seen'

July 31-August 3, 2008 Galle masterclass

A spectacular year continues when he makes a sublime double-century against the wizardry of new spin sensation Ajantha Mendis and the old master Muttiah Muralitharan in Galle. He contributes 201 out of 329 and carries his bat, even declining singles when batting on 199 with the last man

December 11-15, 2008 Unforgettable Chennai cameo

The first Test since the Mumbai terrorist attacks in November is more remembered for Sachin Tendulkar's emotional century that sealed the win over England, but is Sehwag's full-throttle 83 on the fourth evening that sets India on course to overhauling the stiff target of 387 in Chennai

Blitzes a century off 60 deliveries as India sweep to a massive series-winning victory in Hamilton. When rain interrupts his onslaught, India are 201 off 23.3 overs: the Duckworth/Lewis target at that stage is only 118

June 9, 2009 A small injury setback

A shoulder problem sustained during the IPL forces him out of the ICC World Twenty20, and subsequently a tri-series in Sri Lanka and the ICC Champions Trophy

December 2-6, 2009 Surrender to Virender

Even by his own standards, the 293 against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne is astounding. The brutal assault breaks a string of records - the most double-centuries by an Indian, the second-highest number of 250-plus scores, the most runs by an Indian in a day - and gives India the launchpad to a win that would take them to the No. 1 spot

He unleashes what he terms his is best innings in one-dayers: careering to a 102-ball 146 against Sri Lanka in Rajkot that propels India to a seemingly safe 414. India just about win it, though - by three runs

February 14-18, 2010 Top rank retained

India need a victory at the Eden Gardens to save the series and hang on to their top spot in the rankings. After South Africa make 296, Sehwag blitzes a 174-ball 165 to lay the platform for a big first-innings score. India go on to win by an innings, and Sehwag becomes the No. 1 Test batsman in the world.

December 8, 2011 ODIs' Everest conquered

Against West Indies in Indore, Sehwag becomes only the second batsman, after Sachin Tendulkar, to score 200 in an ODI. Astonishingly, he reaches the landmark as early as the 44th over, and is finally dismissed for 219.

Why was it that Australia put in such a hazy performance in a match that mattered so much? Of the two teams they are the more experienced, the more used to winning and entering this week the more confident

Australia's selectors and management have been accused of being too harsh on Brad Haddin but the team's horrible display at Edgbaston suggests that they may actually have been too lenient, and not just on him

Australia's selectors and management have been accused of being too harsh on Brad Haddin but the team's horrible display at Edgbaston suggests that they may actually have been too lenient, and not just on him

Why was it that Australia put in such a hazy performance in a match that mattered so much? Of the two teams they are the more experienced, the more used to winning and entering this week the more confident

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